In my defense, I have tried to understand the state budget. I sent this email to my state representative on October 23'rd:

... but received no response. Maybe her spam filter ate it, or maybe she doesn't answer email. I'll try printing it out and snail-mailing it to her office.

I gotta say, I'm a little miffed at the Massachusetts Teacher's Association. I got a telephone call from a telemarketing firm (hired by the MTA, apparently) asking me if I REALLY and TRULY meant to sign the petition, and if I understood what I was signing. I'm on the state "Do Not Call" list, but I suppose bugging me about signing a petition doesn't count as "marketing."

Irresponsible act #2: I gave money to the Ron Paul for President campaign on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

I'm torn between thinking "we need a really good, rational president who will make the right compromises and get the country headed in the right direction" and thinking "exactly who becomes president doesn't really matter-- what we really need are fixes to our system of government so it can't help but get better over time, no matter who tries to screw it up."

Giving money to Ron Paul was my way of saying "It's the system, stupid."

Irresponsible act #3: I ate Dragon Fries for lunch one day at Pete's. Fake cheese and greasy chili and fried potatoes.... If only they used organic local cheddar, Hadley potatoes, and hormone-free beef then I could at least pretend to be virtuous while clogging my arteries.UPDATE, 19 Jan: I sent the same email to Stan Rosenberg, my state Senator, and received a reply three hours later. On a SATURDAY. I'm impressed, even though I'm not super happy with the answer I received-- basically, it looks like there is NOT a good, user-friendly summary of the State budget available anywhere.